Reflections on 2012 and Challenges for 2013
During the course of the last 12 months Jack and I have run numerous workshop and coaching sessions with Executives from a variety of sectors and different sized organisations. However over the Christmas break it came to mind that there were a few recurring themes that impacted many organisations: the challenge to improve meeting quality, the overwhelming demands of email, and the desire for more understanding and interaction at a personal level with peers.
In the case of meetings, the cry was ‘too many meetings’ and ‘too many ineffective meetings’. Often missing were the fundamentals about preparation and conduct of meetings, clarity over the purpose of the meetings (e.g. confusing strategic topics with tactical topics), wrong membership and an unwillingness to break meeting habits and make changes. So challenge #1 for 2013 is to review the meetings you control, make a difference in their conduct, and make sure they add more value.
Overwhelming email is an affliction known to many of us. Heard the comment “I get 300 emails a day” used too often; almost a badge of honour for some. Some of the obvious solutions of testing whether an email is really needed in the first place, picking up the phone and/or talking face to face then confirming agreement by email, no BCC, no ‘Reply All’ emails etc were picked up by some with good results. Plenty of other techniques to be applied here as well. Challenge #2: can you do something to reduce the volumes of emails you get involved in?
Finally, and interlinked with the above topics, the desire for more genuine interaction with and understanding of the people you work with. For example, many workshop sessions at Executive levels necessarily included a segment on ‘What I bring to this team, my skills and experiences to leverage, what I need from others to succeed and how best to engage with me’. Fundamental information that had been lost in the busy-ness of the working life. Challenge #3 – share this information with the key people in your work life and seek the same information from them. You may be pleasantly surprised by what you discover and the positive impact that shared information has.
If you take up these challenges and make a difference, why not share the details here with the 900 other people in this LinkedIn group from across the globe? Clues to overcoming the issues above would be welcomed by many.
Trust you have a great 2013.
Read more and comment at the Norton Crumlin Network LinkedIn Group
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